Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams ramble into Boston

Saturday

Jul 15, 2017 at 12:01 AMJul 15, 2017 at 9:05 AM

If you were going to start a university of Americana music, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams just might be the first professors you'd want to hire. You could write a lengthy article just tabulating the musical luminaries Larry Campbell has performed and recorded with, although he's probably best known for his long associations with Bob [...]

jaymiller

If you were going to start a university of Americana music, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams just might be the first professors you'd want to hire.

You could write a lengthy article just tabulating the musical luminaries Larry Campbell has performed and recorded with, although he's probably best known for his long associations with Bob Dylan (lead guitar in Dylan's band 1997-2004) and Levon Helm (2005-2012). The multi-instrumentalist has also played with Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Doug Sahm, Rosanne Cash, kd lang, Little Feat, Cyndi Lauper, Buddy and Julie Miller, and The Black Crowes.

Campbell has three Grammys, all as producer of Helm albums, for “Dirt Farmer” in 2007, “Electric Dirt” in 2009, and “Ramble at the Ryman” in 2011. Campbell and his wife, vocalist Teresa Williams, were integral parts of Helm's Midnight Rambles group until the former drummer for The Band passed away in 2012.

Most recently, fans may have seen Campbell and Williams backing up Emmylou Harris on last Monday's Late Show with Stephen Colbert (July 10).

But Friday night Campbell and Williams were on their own tour, stopping off at Brighton Music Hall, where they fronted their own quartet in an 18-song show that spanned a wide range of just about everything under the Americana umbrella. The one hour, fifty-minute show ranged from Campbell playing exquisite solo acoustic guitar on the Celtic tune “Blind Mary,' to full band rock treatments of their own originals, like “The Other Side of Pain,” which might remind casual fans of Tom Petty.

Campbell and Willaims released their self-titled debut album in 2015, and they have another just about ready to drop, as “Contraband Love” is due on September 15. Last night the duo played four new songs from the forthcoming album, displaying their riveting blend of stellar musicianship, ability to jump between genres, and skillfully delivered vocal harmonies.

It could be accurate to dub the show a primer on Americana, a dazzling tour through the many facets of the broad category, but Campbell and Williams kept it all entertaining with informative and light-hearted song introductions, and a kind of running gag about how his wild single days led to some bit of redemption when he met and married her. Brighton Music Hall was set up with seating, as if expecting a sedate show, but it was soon clear there would be plenty of fireworks.

Campbell and Williams began the show, both on acoustic guitars, for a twangy gallop through “You've Got to Righten That Wrong,” an old tune from The Carter Family, with its roots in both traditional country and gospel. Williams' high alto vocals soared mightily right away, and the quartet gave the number so much bounce it didn't seem like the old chestnut it actually is. But if anyone thought that start indicated a throwback show, they were soon brought back to 2017, as Campbell strapped on electric guitar for the swamp-rocking original “Surrender to Love,” which featured the couple singing dual lead vocals.

“Ain't Nobody For Me,” from the couple's first album, was another roadhouse rocker, with a bit more bluesy feel as Campbell dug down deep into the grit on his electric guitar. Another history lesson went down easily, since The Louvin Brothers' classic country weeper, “You're Running Wild,” was amped up to a brisk two-step that came awfully close to rock ‘n' roll. A bit later, “Everybody Loves You” evoked Campbell's time playing with Buddy and Julie Miller, a buoyant traditional two-step ballad which had a sizzling Campbell acoustic guitar solo, leading into an accelerated coda of “Cry Cry Cry” for a blazing finish.

The pair's dual vocals shone on a song Campbell wrote with Julie Miller, “Midnight Highway,” which neatly combined traditional country and gospel influences. After that superb rockin' romp through “The Other Side of Pain,” the band kept the energy level high with the dynamic ballad “Save Me From Myself.” Williams took the lead vocal, with Campbell providing harmony on the choruses, and the overall effect was about midway between vintage Fleetwood Mac and Buddy and Julie Miller, which means, pretty darned outstanding.

Campbell spoke of playing in his younger years with Boston native and banjo wizard Bill Keith, who was capable of incredible things on that instrument, and dedicated the next song to Keith's memory. But instead of a banjo workout, Campbell used his electric guitar to lead the band through a peripatetic gambol through Duke Ellington's “Caravan.” Everyone else took a break after that, while Campbell crafted some head-spinning, orchestral finger-picking on that old Irish instrumental, “Blind Mary.” Campbell noted that it is from his 2005 guitar album “Rooftops,” which he noted he'd conceived while touring with Dylan and playing to unwind after shows on their long bus rides.

The Campbell and Williams cover of Helm's “Dirt Farmer” was extraordinary, to no one's surprise, as Williams' lead vocal, and Campbell on fiddle turned it into a warm country tribute to the late drummer. But the next song was truly a showstopper, as Campbell sang lead on a tune he wrote with soul legend William Bell, which is on the forthcoming album. “When I Stop Loving You” had a marvelous lyric of devotion, a surprisingly poignant vocal from Campbell, gripping electric guitar lines, and a rhythm section so perfectly in the pocket we could've been in Stax Records' heyday. That magnificent performance ended with most of the small crowd in a standing ovation.

The twangy rocker “Ain't Gonna Be A Good Night” was followed by Williams' fine job on the midtempo heartbreaker, “Did You Love me At All?” Campbell led the way on a lively charge through Johnny Cash's “Big River.” History went down easily again as Williams sang Blind Willie Johnson's old gospel-blues, “Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning,” and the quartet gave it a gloriously lurching momentum all its own.For their encore, Campbell and Williams performed the easy-rolling acoustic “Deep Elem Blues,” with even more virtuosity.

Friday's audience included several musicians, including blues harmonica ace Annie Raines, and Quincy blues singer Joe Fitz, indicative of the respect Campbell and Williams have among their peers. Although after Friday night, most fans came away thinking they don't have many peers, but certainly loads of grateful students.

Larry Campbell and wife Teresa Williams performed a veritable primer of Americana music Friday night in Boston